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UConn dial long distance against LSU
After back to back games against ranked teams, the UConn women's basketball team faced a different kind of challenge.
Veteran teams have gotten the message that all games matter regardless of the quality of the opposition but with a team where the only double-digit scorers are two sophomores and a freshman, it's not totally surprising that the Huskies seemed out of sorts playing an unranked team for the first time.
LSU played a physical style similar to what UConn used to see from former conference rivals Louisville and Rutgers so it seemed fitting that the Huskies had more made 3-pointers than shots inside the 3-point line for the first time since a Mar. 4, 2012 game against Rutgers.
Katie Lou Samuelson led the way hitting 7 of 11 of her 3-point attempts en route to a career-high 28 points. The seven made 3-pointers is tied for the fourth best performance in UConn history (Renee Montgomery did it three times, Kaleena Mosqueda twice, Ann Strother twice while Diana Taurasi, Wendy Davis and Kerry Bascom accomplished the feat once each).
Kia Nurse added three 3-pointers (one shy of her career high) which might be even bigger news since she was 1 for 7 from the field in the first two games. During the ESPN broadcast, it was reported that Nurse met with UConn Geno Auriemma because she was feeling the pressure and weight of added expectations following the graduation of Moriah Jefferson as well as fellow All-Americans Breanna Stewart and Morgan Tuck. Nurse also had eight assists meaning that of her three games at UConn with at least eight assists, two have come against LSU. She has 14 assists in the last two games, the most she has posted in back to back games at UConn.
UConn's 14 3-pointers is tied for the fifth best single-game performance in program history. The Huskies made 18 treys in games against Syracuse in 2009 and UC Davis in 2014.
UConn also finished the game with more turnovers than LSU and gave up more offensive rebounds for the third game in a row. Before this season the last time the Huskies allowed more offensive boards and committed more turnovers in the same game came against Oregon on Nov. 20, 2013. It also happened in the Florida State game.
Now the Huskies return home to face Dayton tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Gampel Pavilion. Due to a quirk in the schedule, the Huskies will play DePaul at Gampel on Dec. 1 and the next game on campus (or at least on UConn's campus) will come on Jan. 22 against Tulane.
Earlier today the first of the weekly American Athletic Conference awards were announced. Samuelson, who averaged 19.3 points per game, was named the player of the week and Crystal Dangerfield (third on the team at 11.3 points per game) was named the freshman of the week.
Also, the Associated Press poll came out and UConn moved up a spot to No. 2 behind Notre Dame.
Veteran teams have gotten the message that all games matter regardless of the quality of the opposition but with a team where the only double-digit scorers are two sophomores and a freshman, it's not totally surprising that the Huskies seemed out of sorts playing an unranked team for the first time.
LSU played a physical style similar to what UConn used to see from former conference rivals Louisville and Rutgers so it seemed fitting that the Huskies had more made 3-pointers than shots inside the 3-point line for the first time since a Mar. 4, 2012 game against Rutgers.
Katie Lou Samuelson led the way hitting 7 of 11 of her 3-point attempts en route to a career-high 28 points. The seven made 3-pointers is tied for the fourth best performance in UConn history (Renee Montgomery did it three times, Kaleena Mosqueda twice, Ann Strother twice while Diana Taurasi, Wendy Davis and Kerry Bascom accomplished the feat once each).
Kia Nurse added three 3-pointers (one shy of her career high) which might be even bigger news since she was 1 for 7 from the field in the first two games. During the ESPN broadcast, it was reported that Nurse met with UConn Geno Auriemma because she was feeling the pressure and weight of added expectations following the graduation of Moriah Jefferson as well as fellow All-Americans Breanna Stewart and Morgan Tuck. Nurse also had eight assists meaning that of her three games at UConn with at least eight assists, two have come against LSU. She has 14 assists in the last two games, the most she has posted in back to back games at UConn.
UConn's 14 3-pointers is tied for the fifth best single-game performance in program history. The Huskies made 18 treys in games against Syracuse in 2009 and UC Davis in 2014.
UConn also finished the game with more turnovers than LSU and gave up more offensive rebounds for the third game in a row. Before this season the last time the Huskies allowed more offensive boards and committed more turnovers in the same game came against Oregon on Nov. 20, 2013. It also happened in the Florida State game.
Now the Huskies return home to face Dayton tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Gampel Pavilion. Due to a quirk in the schedule, the Huskies will play DePaul at Gampel on Dec. 1 and the next game on campus (or at least on UConn's campus) will come on Jan. 22 against Tulane.
Earlier today the first of the weekly American Athletic Conference awards were announced. Samuelson, who averaged 19.3 points per game, was named the player of the week and Crystal Dangerfield (third on the team at 11.3 points per game) was named the freshman of the week.
Also, the Associated Press poll came out and UConn moved up a spot to No. 2 behind Notre Dame.
posted by Jim Fuller at
11:03 AM
4 Comments:
If the Huskies are shooting well, then they are not going to get very many offensive rebounds; and if their defense is forcing the other team to take bad shots, the other team will have more opportunities to gather offensive rebounds.
That being said, it would be nice to see them box out better!
Somewhat annoyed that this UConn team is allegedly tired of the talk about Stewart, Jefferson, Tuck. Comparisons are an inevitable part of being in the UConn family. It comes with the territory.
Do they not think Stewart heard comparisons to Maya and Diana? Do they not think Jefferson heard comparisons to Bird? Do they not think Tuck was compared to Jones and Williams?
This UConn team is not that young. Do people forget that Maya's senior season team was young? When Stewart, Jefferson, and Tuck were freshmen, KML and Stokes were sophomores. 5 young players on that team, with 1 senior Faris and 1 5th year senior Doty. Same number of seniors as this UConn team.
"Young Geno Auriemma" would have blasted his team several times during this game. He would not have tolerated an offense that did not resemble UConn basketball. At least 2 players would have been benched. Tough love worked for UConn teams in the past. Times have changed.
Gabby and Collier are natural rebounders. But they lack both height and weight. Even with proper box out technique, they can easily be displaced. Which sometimes leads to Gabby or Collier fouling. Do the UConn trainers and coaches not teach Butler how to jump and how to move her feet while rebounding?
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